Valve apparatus



March 15, 1966 F. A. BOWER, JR

VALVE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 21, 1964 m w M m H 5 a M m Zia m m M O w A MK I WNW m if Fig 3 United States Patent F 3,240,152 VALVE APPARATUSFrank A. Bower, Jr., Chicago, Ill., assignor to Panther Pumps 8:Equipment Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 21,1964, Ser. No. 346,432 12 Claims. (Cl. 10344) The present inventionrelates to improvements in valve apparatus; and more particularly toimproved valve means operable in connection with a diaphragm pump or thelike; and still more particularly to a valve positioned in a diaphragmpump with respect to a characteristic of flotation of a substance ormaterial with respect to another substance or material as well as havingdifferent characteristics of the compressibility for causing either thesubstance or material, at least in one adaptation of the invention,always to be purged from the pump during normal pumping operationthereof.

The invention is characterized by having a valve so positioned withrespect to an inlet and outlet port in the pump with respect to gravity,although certain other forces might be utilized such as magnetic orcentrifugal forces, to enable the valve to purge material that isdesired to be kept removed from the pump apparatus.

The present invention is readily adaptable and useful in the pump shownand described in the co-pending application of Paul W. Schlosser, SerialNo. 336,432, filed January 8, 1964, for Liquid Driven Pumps, in whichpump the cavitation and condensation characteristics of a drive liquidare utilized to improve the efiiciency of a pump. Pumps shown in saidSchlosser application are particularly adapted to supply devices thatare used only intermittently and turned on and off by an outlet valve.Such outlet valves are commonly those associated with spray guns andused for cleaning, painting and sand blasting purposes, and the like. Inthis aforementioned application, the details of cavitation andcondensation of the drive liquid is explained, and will not be repeatedin such detail herein. Briefly, a liquid is selected; such as oil, fluidtransmission liquid, and many others including ethylene glycol, forexample only, which liquid has the characteristic of evaporating rapidlyin cavitation and likewise condensing readily upon pressure changesbelow and above a predetermined pressure; which in the usual instance isabout atmospheric pressure or a vacuum created by the suction stroke ofa piston type motor.

In the present invention, the new valve apparatus is arranged for beingdriven by the diaphragm under the influence of pressurized drivingliquid which in turn causes movement of the diaphragm for inspiratingand expirating a fluid which may be of many kinds or sorts. In aspecific embodiment used, by way of example, the fluid may be paintdelivered to a paint spray gun. In this pumping apparatus, a pistondrives a liquid to cause reciprocation of the diaphragm to attain apumping function. When the spray gun is shut off, the diaphragm will, insuccessive pulsating moments, be urged toward a valve seat on thedriving liquid side of the pump whereupon it will eventually seat aftera few pulsations. Because the driven fluid is shut oif and at highpressure the driving liquid is expelled from the liquid drive portion ofthe pump apparatus into a supply tank and sump. After the valve seats,the piston can continue to reciprocate in its cylinder while the drivingliquid cavitates and recondenses at a relatively low horsepower input tothe pumping apparatus.

It is particularly desirable that air, which can be entrained with thedriving liquid during filling of a pump, for example, and also becauseof leakage, etc., be driven from the pump. In this invention, entrappedair in the 3,249,152 Patented Mar. 15, 1966 ice interior of the pumpapparatus can be readily vented through a vent plug while the piston isreciprocated by hand until the pump apparatus is purged of air, at leaston the driving side.

While air may also be entrained in the paint side of the pump, in thisspecific example this does not present a serious problem; however, suchentrapment of air in this side can detract from the eificiency of thepump and, accordingly, it is conveniently arranged in this new valveapparatus to likewise purge air and other undesirable substances havinga lesser specific gravity than paint, for instance, in the example to bedescribed. Of course, within the teachings of this invention, it willbecome obvious that by different placement of valved ports within thediaphragm pump a material having a heavier or higher specific gravitythan the paint [or other substance] could be purged from the bottom ofthe pump in which the heavier material would tend to precipitate.

It is a broad object of the invention, therefore, to provide improvedvalve apparatus for a diaphragm pump and the like.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide im proved valveapparatus for enabling purging of one material or substance out of asystem for improving efficiency of the pump apparatus.

A still more specific object of the invention is to provide an improvedvalve apparatus for purging a liquid driven diaphragm pump of air, orother gas, which tends to inhibit most favorable cavitation of the driveliquid during certain periods of operation of pump apparatus.

It is a still more specific object of the invention to provide, in ahigh pressure pump or the like, a flexible valve which can contour to avalve seat that may have irregularities for effecting a fluid sealtherewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatusoperable with a diaphragm pump capable of pumping fluids at pressuressubstantially in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch.

Another object in connection with the preceding object is to provide apartially spherical faced valve coopera'ble with a mating partiallyspherical shaped valve seat whereby to inhibit stresses in diaphragmparts supporting the valve.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will beeither obvious or pointed out in the specification as the description ofthe apparatus progresses and in the appended claims read in view of theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of the pump including the improved valveapparatus of this invention;

PEG. 2 is a detail view of the valve apparatus taken on lines 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken substantially on lines 33 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a modification of theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 but showing a furthermodification of the invention employing reed type valves.

For details of the invention, reference will first be made to FIG. 1. Adiaphragm pump generally indicated by reference character 10 comprisesright and left-hand housing parts 11 and 12 which peripherally confine adiaphragm 14 which may be circular, for example, between the halves ofthe housing 10 which divide the housing into a pumping liquid chamber 15and a pumped fluid chamber 16.

Liquid to be pumped, such as paint in the example selected herein, isdrawn in through a pipe 18 through a check valve 19, a pipe 20 andthrough a port 21 into the chamber 16 when the diaphragm 14 is movedtoward the right, as shown in this figure drawing in a manner to bedescribed more fully below. When the diaphragm 14 is driven toward theleft, the fluid [paint, and initially some air, or cleaning solvent,etc.] in the chamber 15 will be driven out of the passageway 21 througha check valve 22, a pipe 23, a manually controlled valve 25 to an outletorifice 26, for example, such as that of a spray gun, not shown. Inpainting, the valve 25 is intermittently opened and closed, and whenopen will deliver highly pressurized paint in the direction of thedotted arrow shown issuing from the orifice 26. In operating apparatusof this type, it is found that paint can be sprayed at substantialdistances and has the characteristic of not being blown as is commonwith air-driven paint guns.

A diaphragm 14 is driven by liquid which fills a chamber in a cylinder31. The liquid in the chamber 30 also fills all liquid communicatingparts in the chamber 15, a passageway 32, a pipe 33 and a supply andvent pipe 35 which communicates with a vent plug 37. This plug isusually loosened or removed to free the entire liquid circuit from airto assure proper operation of the pump 28 when starting a pump 10, atleast the first time it is used. However, the pump has a facility ofpurging itself at all times, and such facility comprises a broadattribute of this invention. 7

A piston provided with a suitable number of rings or gaskets, or thelike, is reciprocated through a pin 41 by a connecting rod 42 journalledat bearing 43 on a crank 44 turned by suitable means such as an electricmotor, not shown, to oscillate the piston 40 back and forth and thusdrive the liquid in the chamber 30 into and out of the chamber 15 in thediaphragm pump 10. The liquid in the chamber 30 in the pump ispreferably of low compressibility, but possessing a preferably highdegree of volatility whereby cavitation and recondensation are obtainedreadily during operation of the pump. Such occurs when a valve mechanismshown at the top of the diaphragm 14 adjacent the ports 21 and 32 is inengagement with a valve seat 52, around the port 32.

Referring now to FIG. 2 (substantially enlarged with respect to FIG.1),, only an upper portion of the housing 12 is shown, with all parts inposition except the part 11 removed therefrom for clarity. The diaphragm14 lies in the shouldered groove 53 having an internal edge 54 definingthe edge of the chamber 16. The port 21 is covered by the valve halvesof the valve 50 completely around the edges 55.

With reference to FIG. 3, a substantially enlarged view of the valve 50is shown and each half 55 is identical and made of relatively thin buttough steel, of the stainless variety preferably, and the edges of eachare rounded at 56 to reduce stress on the diaphragm clamped therebetweenby the rivet 58 passing through the centers of the valve members 55. Thevalve 50 is secured adjacent the upper edge of the diaphragm 14 andvalve members 55 are secured by a rivet 58 and a backing ring 59. Thepoints 54 of contact to the edge of the diaphragm 14 with the recess 53,FIG. 2, is shown as being quite close to the upper edge of the valvemember 55 and provides a hinge for the valve at this point. It is to benoted in FIG. 2 that air or the like can only accumulate up to a dottedline 60 which corresponds to the inner top edge 62 of the ports 21 and32 which may be identical. However, due to engagement of the diaphragm14 with the surface 54, prior to engagement of the top and sides of theedges 56 of valves 55, such air is quickly expressed downwardly and outof the ports 32 and 21.

With the parts described above, operating with the valve 25, FIG. 1,open, the diaphragm 14 oscillates in some intermediate range ofoscillation wherein the ports 32 and 21 are normally uncovered. Drivingliquid will move in and out freely through the port 32 and the drivenfluid will be moved out through the port 21 under a predeterminedpressure.

With the valve 25 shut off, the liquid in the chamber 30 Will for atleast a few Strokes still be oscillated by movements of the piston 40.The driving liquid will accordingly cause inspiration of paint throughthe valve 19 into the chamber 16; which paint cannot leave because thevalve 25 is shut off. Accordingly, because the piston 40 moves through afixed length stroke, succeeding movements of same towards the left willcause the port 32 to be closed by the valve 50. Thereafter,reciprocations of the piston 40 will drive liquid out of a check valve65 which is preadjusted by a set screw 66 to discharge driving liquid 30at a pressure slightly exceeding the normal operating pressure of theliquid 30 in the pump apparatus. This driving liquid will pass toatmospheric pressure, for example, in a sump 68 connected by pipe 69 tothe check valve 66. Succeeding oscillations of the piston 40 will causethe driving liquid to cavitate and condense, as explained more fully inthe above-mentioned Schlosser application.

The crank 44 is turned at approximately 800 r.p.m., for example, andsucceeding movements of the piston 40 toward the right will tend to drawliquid from the sump 68 through a pipe 69, a low operating pressure(vacuum) adjustable check valve 70, which can be adjusted by a knob 71,for example, through the pipe 35 to the chamber 30 for the liquid. Thevolume of liquid permitted to flow through the check valve 70 isrelatively minute and may be but a drop, for example, for eachright-directed stroke of the piston 40. Accordingly, the liquid 30 willbe cavitated on the stroke to the right and recondensed on leftdirectedstrokes of piston 40. It is highly desirable that the minimumpracticable amount of air be present in the system at such time becauseof its unfavorable expansion and compression characteristics in pumps ofthis kind.

Referring to FIG. 4, a higher pressure modification of the invention isshown. A valve is made up of two identical halves 151 and thus only onewill be explained. The halves 151 are secured by a suitable rivet 152 tothe diaphragm 141 that may be identical in all respects to diaphragmsused throughout, and which may be, for eX- ample only, of polypropyleneapproximately forty-thousandths of an inch thick for use in pressureapplications of 1,000 pounds per square inch and upward. The rivet 152compresses the material therebetween during the riveting operation inthis modification of the invention (as does the rivet 58 in themodification shown and described in connection with FIG. 3). The exposedsurfaces of the valve halves 151 are spherical-convex and are the samein curvature as a concave valve seat 155 associated with a port 121,there being another port identical to and in the other half of the valvehousing, not shown.

This second modification of the invention differs from the one describedabove in being capable of operating at substantially higher pressure (onthe order of 5,000 pounds per square inch and upward) without rupture orexcessive stress on either the valve parts 151 and associated diaphragmportions adjacent thereto. It is to be understood that the chamberforming concavities in the housings are preferably ground in connectionwith high pressure pumps as well as with low pressure pumps that operatebetween 1,000 and 5,000 p.s.i., for example. Regarding machining, thestructure shown in FIG. 3 is capable of flexing sufiiciently toaccommodate surface and machining irregularities and the normalconcavity of the housing surfaces can be utilized without severelystressing the valves 55. However, at higher pressure, I prefer that thestructures of a kind substantially as shown in FIG. 4 be utilized toprevent failure of either valve or diaphragm parts.

FIG. 5 shows a reed type valve for use with a single port for use in lowpressure pumps that operate in ranges of only a few to 1,000 p.s.i., forexample. If higher pressures are desired, this device can further bemodified to accommodate same for such pressures, in the mannerindicated,by a plurality of ports which may be relatively small. With suchstructure, the reed valves 162 may be riveted as by rivets 163, only onebeing shown, to opposite sides of the diaphragm 14 and moved thereby toand from the ports 16%. As mentioned briefly above, for low pressure useof the device a single larger port is preferred in place of theplurality of ports 169 for the reason that, in addition to paints,certain of these pumps in low pressure applications are used to pumpcement mixtures containing sand and the like, and the freedom of flow isrestricted by smaller holes 160. The device of FIG. 5, however, hascertain advantages over the other modifications regarding economy ofmanufacture and purging of air because the upper port 160 or upper edgeof a single port can be above a point 165 where the edge of a chamber 14or 15 merges with the shoulder supporting the edge of the diaphragm 14.

As shown at the tops of FIGS. 2 and 5, a sealing ring 170 can be usedfor high pressure shown in my co-pending application, Serial No.297,530, filed July 25, 1963, for Balanced Pressure Pump.

While I have shown and described in detail presently preferred valveapparatus particularly adapted for purging a pumping chamber, or thelike, obviously other advantages and uses of the valve apparatus willoccur to others Working in the art. Accordingly, I desire not to berestricted in my invention only to the specific embodiments andmodifications of the invention shown and described, but only by thescope of the following claims.

I claim.

1. The combination in a piston driven diaphragm pump of the characterdescribed, of means forming a pumping liquid and pumped fluid chambersseparated by the diaphragm, and pumping liquid control calve means forsaid liquid chamber mounted on the diaphragm and being mounted adjacentthe periphery thereof for causing a substance to leave said pumpingchamber prior to the pumping liquid in response to a pressure decreasein the pumping liquid chamber.

2. The combination in a pump of the character de scribed including ahousing and diaphragm means form ing pumping liquid and pumped fluidchambers within the housing and pumping liquid control valve meanscarried by said diaphragm in said liquid pumping chamber operated bysaid diaphragm means and being mounted adjacent the periphery thereoffor causing a substance to leave the liquid pumping chamber prior to thepumping liquid in response to a pressure increase in the pumped liquidchamber.

3. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 2, and a valve seatcarried by the housing.

4. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 2, and a pumped fluidcontrol valve means substantially similar to said pumping liquid controlvalve means.

5, A pump substantially as set forth in claim 4, said pumped fluidcontrol means being carried by said diaphragm on the opposite sidethereof with respect to said pumping liquid control means.

6. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 2, and a positivedisplacement pump disposed in pressure commu-- nication with the pumpingliquid chamber for causing pumping oscillation of said diaphragm.

7. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 6, said positivedisplacement pump being a reciprocable piston, and power operated meansfor reciprocating said piston.

8. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 6, said valve means beingadapted to close for terminating oscillations of said diaphragm.

9. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 8, and pressure reliefmeans adapted to pass driving liquid out of said positive displacementpump means when said valve means closes.

10. A pump substantially as set forth in claim 9, and liquid supplymeans adapted to replenish driving liquid in said positive displacementpump.

11. In a diaphragm pump of a kind subjected to entrainment of arelatively compressible substance having a first specific gravity withrelationship to a relative noncompressible material having a secondspecific gravity, valve means for enabling passage of the substance outof the pump comprising, at least one pump housing part adapted forreceiving said material at all times and said substance at some times, avalve seat internal of said housing part, a diaphragm connected to saidhousing part and being movable toward and away from said valve seat, anda valve member moved by said diaphragm and being cooperable with saidvalve seat, said valve member and said valve seat being adjacent an edgeof said housing part to permit the expulsion of the substance from thepump housing part prior to the expulsion therefrom of the material.

12. The combination in a diaphragm pump of the character described, ofmeans forming a pumping fluid chamber and a pumped fluid chamber, meansestablishing communication between the pumping fluid chamber and apumping means, means establishing communication between the pumped fluidchamber and a pumped fluid source, the respective chambers beingseparated by a diaphragm, valve means on the diaphragm cooperable withseating means in the pumping fluid chamber disposed adjacent theperiphery of the means forming the pumping fluid chamber, the diaphragmand valve means thereon being responsive to an increase in pressure inthe pumped fluid chamber above normal pumping pressure to interruptcommunication between the pumping fluid chamber and the pumping meansand to expel a substance from the pumping fluid chamber prior to thepumping fluid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,134 6/1955Hughes 103-44 2,919,650 1/1960 Wigglemann 10344 3,107,624 10/ 1963Williams 10344 ROBERT WALKER, Primary Examiner,

1. THE COMBINATION IN A PISTON DRIVEN DIAPHRAGM PUMP OF THE CHARACTERDESCRIBED, OF MEANS FORMING A PUMPING LIQUID AND PUMPED FLUID CHAMBERSSEPARATED BY THE DIAPHRAGM, AND PUMPING LIQUID CONTROL VALVE MEANS FORSAID LIQUID CHAMBER MOUNTED ON THE DIAPHRAGM AND BEING MOUNTED ADJACENTTHE PERIPHERY THEREOF FOR CAUSING A SUBSTANCE TO LEAVE SAID PUMPINGCHAMBER PRIOR TO THE PUMPING LIQUID IN RESPONSE TO A PRESSURE DECREASEIN THE PUMPING LIQUID CHAMBER.